The Upper Savannah region is receiving almost $80 million in grant funding to assist with improvements for clean drinking water, sanitary sewer and stormwater resilience in communities including Clinton.
Sixteen projects totaling $79,891,066 were awarded throughout the region, with projects in all six counties. The announcement was made last Tuesday. The grant awards are funded by the S.C. Infrastructure Investment Program (SCIIP) and the S.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA).
The Upper Savannah COG assisted with some of the applications and will help administer nine of the 16 projects.
USCOG Assistant Director Sam Leaman, Government Services Director Rick Green and Government Services Project Manager Cason Wright have been involved in the process.
Upper Savannah COG will be helping administer the projects for City of Abbeville, Town of Due West, Town of Edgefield, Ninety Six CPW, Town of Ware Shoals, City of Clinton, Laurens CPW, McCormick CPW and Town of Ridge Spring.
The S.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) had been awarded $1.369 billion in grant funding to communities across the state to assist with improvements for clean drinking water, sanitary sewer and stormwater resilience.
The funds, made via the award of 216 grants to local governments and public water and sewer utilities across South Carolina, will go a long way in protecting the quality of life, addressing long-term sustainability and providing new opportunities for growth and development, according to an Upper Savannah COG announcement.
The S.C. Infrastructure Investment Program (SCIIP) was created by RIA as a one-time initiative designed to have a transformative impact on water, wastewater and stormwater systems in small and disadvantaged communities as well as larger, growing communities using federal funds allocated by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The awarded projects include the following:
City of Abbeville, Upper Long Cane Waterline Connection, $3,450,000 SCIIP, $500,000 RIA
Donalds Due West Water and Sewer Authority, Water System Improvements, $9,500,000 SCIIP
Town of Due West, Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade, $1,950,000 SCIIP
Edgefield County, Barton Road Drainage Improvements, $950,747 SCIIP
Edgefield County Water & Sewer Authority, Water Treatment Plant Upgrade, $10,000,000 SCIIP
Town of Edgefield, Gymnasium Stormwater Improvements, $790,000 SCIIP
Greenwood CPW, Water System Improvements, $10,000,000 SCIIP
Greenwood Metropolitan District, Sewer System Improvements, $10,000,000, SCIIP
Ninety Six CPW, Viability Study, $930,500 SCIIP
Town of Ware Shoals, Water and Sewer Viability Planning, $600,000 SCIIP
City of Clinton, Miller’s Fork Basin Sewer Rehabilitation, $4,250,000 SCIIP, $500,000 RIA
Laurens CPW, Water System Improvements, $10,000,000 SCIIP, $500,000 RIA
Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission, Hospital Area Water System Improvements, $7,922,850 SCIIP
McCormick CPW, Mechanical Barscreen & Raw Water Pump Improvement, $4,128,210 SCIIP, $500,000 RIA
Town of Ridge Spring, Water System & Storm Drainage Evaluation, $500,000
Saluda County Water & Sewer Authority, Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade, $2,918,750 SCIIP
LCWSC Awarded $7.9 Million SCIIP Grant for Prisma Health
Laurens County Hospital area water system improvements
Laurens — The Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission (LCWSC) is pleased to announce it has received $7.9 Million in grant funding from the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) to assist with improvements for clean drinking water. The S.C. Infrastructure Investment Program (SCIIP) was created by RIA as a major, one-time initiative designed to have a transformative impact on water, wastewater and stormwater systems in small and disadvantaged communities as well as larger, growing communities using federal funds allocated by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Specifically, the SCIIP grant awarded to LCWSC will fund the Laurens County Hospital Area Water System Improvements Project to replace aging infrastructure and increase capacity for the area serving much of the central part of the County, between the County’s municipal centers, along US 76 and I-385, which include the hospital and medical services hub of Laurens County. The project will also allow LCWSC to better support the City of Clinton, if necessary, through an emergency interconnection between the two water systems.
System capacity is perhaps the largest single measurable impact of this project. This will provide increased system capacity in the Milam Road area to support the central part of Laurens County along the Hwy. 76 corridor, Hwy. 72 corridor and I-385 between the City of Laurens and the City of Clinton. System capacity in the Hospital Zone will also be increased by 165%.
“The LCWSC team cannot over emphasize the tremendous benefit this funding will provide by increasing capacity and improving resiliency to a critical part of our service area.” said Jeff Field, Executive Director at LCWSC. “We are grateful to everyone involved to make this a reality, allowing our team to utilize these funds and create far-reaching impact for those we serve.”
The RIA received more than 300 applications requesting more than $2 billion worth of funding. A total of $1.369 billion was ultimately awarded to 200 communities.
The funds, made via the award of 216 grants to local governments and public water and sewer utilities across the South Carolina, will go a long way in protecting the quality of life, addressing long-term sustainability, and providing new opportunities for growth and development.
About Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission:
The mission of the Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission (LCWSC) is to ensure that our customers are provided with a sustainable supply of safe, quality drinking water and to provide environmentally sound wastewater collection and treatment services. Our dedication to our industry, customers and community will be evident through our operations, outreach initiatives and efficiency of services while maintaining a continued focus on supporting the infrastructure for effective economic growth. To learn more about Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission, visit www.lcwsc.com.
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$5,000,000 Grant Awarded To Clinton From Carolina Infrastructure Improvement Program
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
The May meeting of Clinton City Council was held yesterday at the M.S. Bailey Municipal Center on North Broad Street. During the meeting, council members were informed of a grant awarded to the city.
Joey Meadors, Clinton’s Director of Public Works, told council that Clinton had applied for a grant through the Upper Savannah Council of Governments to address several longstanding sanitary sewer issues. Yesterday he told council that the city has received a South Carolina Infrastructure Improvement Program grant totaling $5,000,000. The grant is for the purpose of completing a sewer reahab project in the Miller Fork basin.
The area affected by this grant is one of the areas of the city that has had the most issues with its sewer service. The area includes 207 manholes, 76 miles of gravity fed main sewer lines along with two pump stations.
Mr. Meadors said that the city has received grants over the past three years in excess of $7,000,000. He said the city has just completed a grant funded project in the Clinton Mill area addressing the same type issues.
Work on this latest grant project should begin in late 2023 or early 2024. - WLBG
ALSO: The Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission is making plans to culminate in 34 months a major sewer system re-hab and addition in and around the City of Clinton. Part of the project is to replace an important line installed in 1979.
The commission proposes a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the primary funder for the commission’s new Lake Greenwood Water Treatment Plant, on Hwy 221, south of Laurens. An advertisement for a public hearing on this proposed project has appeared in The Clinton Chronicle.
The work will provide 1 million gallons per day of sewer capacity at the Clinton Corporate 1 Park. LCWSC General Manager Jeff Field said it is for future expansion and it looks good on Clinton’s industrial recruiting material.
A driver for this to-be-completed-in-the-future project is the fact that the State has deed to the City all the surplus property of Whitten Center, a facility for the most severely intellectually handicapped individuals. The fact that most people with these handicaps are now treated in “less restrictive environments” means that Whitten Center’s population and staff have seen a dramatic decrease, and the State doesn’t need a large tract there. The land includes a vast tract of undeveloped, tree-covered land and a reservoir with a picnic area; some of the deeded land is on the other side of I-26, and the City plans an industrial park there (behind a SC Department of Transportation maintenance facility).
The City considers this intersection - Hwy 72 and I-26 - its “gateway” from the heavily travelled interstate that connects Greenville-Spartanburg to Columbia and on to Charleston.
LCWSC is nearing completion of a sewer project that re-habs a major connector of this sewer system in the front yard of the Renfro plant, at Springdale Drive and Hwy 76. The commission has a sewer treatment plant farther east, between Joanna and the Newberry County line.
The commission makes most of its money from water - not sewer - but the sewer side is growing: 123 new taps so far in 2023 (compared to 387 new water taps, mostly in the fast-growing Northern Laurens County area).
The commission installed 44 new water taps in March, and is taking steps to move more of its Lake Greenwood treated water from Southern Laurens County, up through Laurens and its Raider Road tank, to the North at Metric Road. This site at Metric is a $14 Million project with a 1 Million-gallon tank. The commission also is re-habbing its tank behind the Laurens County Hospital, an $11 Million project. Also, a new tank in Hickory Tavern is coming on-line when electricity is connected soon - this is a successfully completed Laurens County Capital Projects Sales Tax project.
LCWSC also is involved in a major sewer system expansion in Gray Court, for the North American headquarters of FiberTex and a potential 270-homes subdivision behind Gray Court-Owings Elementary School. LCWSC also has applied for money to connect downtown Gray Court to this system.
Reports about these projects were part of the board’s April 25 meeting, in which new member Lumus Byrd attended his first meeting.
He replaces John McMurray, who resigned from a Clinton-based board seat. Commission board meetings are the fourth Tuesday morning at the LCWSC office, Hwy 221 South, Laurens. — Vic MacDonald/The Chronicle
